


The Way I Said I Loved You.

by Thegracefulnerd



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-11 01:44:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7020541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thegracefulnerd/pseuds/Thegracefulnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mostly AU Solangelo. Short one-shots and stories, inspired by the different ways to say I love you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Eat Something."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: All rights of the characters used to Rick Riordan.

The first time Will said 'I love you', Nico hadn't eaten in two days. In fact, he'd been living off of energy drinks, occasional snacks and a prayer. Nico had been asked by his record label to come in and play lead guitar for some solo artist in the same label. He normally would have been thrilled, but the artist was in town for three days before going back to California, giving Nico only two days to learn five new songs for lead, and for rythm. The other guitarist caught a flight to Reading and Leeds and cancelled.  
Will came in, around four in the morning, from a twelve hour shift at the hospital. He was exhausted, but felt less than relieved to be home. He could hear Nico, probably locked in his studio, still playing guitar. Tired and mildly anxious Will made his way to his and Nico's room to change.  
Nico was still playing when Will got out of the shower. Actually, he had showered, changed clothes, gotten ready for bed, and an hour later, at 4:55 in the morning, Nico was still playing. Will groaned and shuffled down the hall, fully prepared to kick his boyfriends ass if he would not go the fuck to sleep.  
"Nico! I'm home!" Will yelled.  
The playing stopped and Nico came to the door. He blinked when he saw Will, like he'd just woken up from a long daydream.  
"What? But I thought you were working a twelve hour shift?" Nico asked, clearly disoreinted. Will sighed, "Yes, and I did. It's almost five in the morning Neeks."  
Nico looked around in disbelief. "Seriously!?"  
Will nodded, "Seriously."  
"Oh, I uh. I'm sorry, I had no idea it was that late. I kept thinking about dinner, but then Davis called and said that they might want to try for a sixth song so I had to work on it and it just all sorta got put on the backburner." Nico explained, running a hand through his dark hair.  
Will made a time-out gesture with his hands, "Hold up, go back. Have you even eaten anything today?"  
Nico looked thoughtful for a moment, "No, and I don't think I ate yesterday either."  
Frustration and severe annoyance at Davis and the stupid solo artist who needed Nico, filled Will's head. "Are you kidding me? Nico, you have to take care of yourself! Come on." He grabbed Nico's arm and took him into the small kitchen in their apartment. Nico sat down at the small table they had, while Will shuffled around trying to find something for his thick headed boyfriend to eat.  
"So did you make headway on the solos?" He asked Nico.  
"Mmm-hmmm."  
"How long are they going to keep you at the studio? Micheal gave me the next two days off."  
"Idunnnoooo." Nico mumbled.  
Will turned and saw Nico, half-asleep and half-upright at the table. Will grinned a little and sat down the warmed over pasta in front of Nico.  
"Eat."  
Nico scowled, "Sure thing Doc."


	2. "Get Some Sleep"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Disclaimer; All rights of characters to Rick Riordan.

The first time Nico said "I love you", Will was finishing med-school. It was end of semester, and naturally Will had procrastinated his end of term paper by distracting himself with certain things, (or people). It was three days before the assignment was due and around 7:00 o'clock in the evening. Nico had been called out to the studio by Davis, and he was rushing around his own studio trying to pack his guitar. He hurried down the hall but stopped in his tracks when he saw Will, buried on their couch under piles of papers, textbooks, a laptop and Arizona Tea cans.   
"Will, I'm going out to the studio for a sec, Davis called and asked me to come in and listen to a track... will you be okay?" He asked gingerly. He knew Will was a determined workaholic, but he was also needy and rather distracted when he was stressed out. Will kept typing on the keyboard, oblivious to what Nico had just said. Nico sighed and walked over to Will, waving his hand in front of his face. 

"Will? Helllooooo? Anyone there?" Nico asked teasingly. 

"Hmm, yeah what?" Will asked, his eyes never leaving the laptop. 

"I said I'm going out to the studio for a sec. Will you be okay?" 

Will nodded, "Yeah, yeah it's good." 

Nico raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure, because I can stay and help." 

Will looked up and glanced at Nico stubbornly. "I'm fine Neeks, I got it covered. Go do your rock-star thing."

Nico sighed and pressed a chaste kiss to Will's lips. "Alright, don't overwork yourself. Rock-star's orders." 

Will grinned, "Sure thing Ringo." 

"He was the dRUMMER!" 

~

Nico got back at ten o'clock. It turns out that 'listening to a track' nowadays means listening to it, once you've recorded it. He'd texted Will explaining why he'd be out later, but he hadn't gotten a text back. When he stepped into their apartment, Will was still on the couch, eyes still glued to the laptop screen. Nico shook his head but decided not to bother Will while he was so concentrated. He put his guitar back into his studio, touched up a charcoal sketch he'd been playing around with, and then decided to go to bed. It was a little passed midnight, and Nico decided now would be the best time to go bother Will. He walked out and sat beside Will, and propped his head on Will's shoulder. 

"I'm goin' to sleep." Nico mumbled, hoping it'd be enough to get Will to leave the paper alone. 

"M'kay. I'll be there soon." 

"Buutt Will..." Nico whined. 

Will just laughed a little, "You will be fine. Go to sleep, I'll be there soon I promise." 

Nico looked doubtfully at Will, but he just kissed Nico and shooed him away. 

When Nico woke up, he stretched out hoping to find Will, but instead he was met with cold sheets. He turned back over to see that it was three a.m.

"Damn doctor boyfriend and his damn paper." Nico grumbled getting out of bed. He tromped through the hall and into the living room. As suspected, Will had not moved. Nico walked up to him and stared. "Have you saved the paper?" 

Will looked up startled, "What? Nico wait, what are you doing up?" 

It was obvious Will was exhausted. His face looked gaunt and he had bruises under his eyes. Nico sighed, "Have you saved the damn paper?" 

"Yeahhh..." 

"Ok good." Nico closed the laptop and tossed it over on the couch. "Come and get some sleep you thick headed idiot" 

"Hey! What, wait, I was-." Will stuttered before giving up and leaning against Nico. "Yeah you're right c'mon." 

Nico grinned, "I'm always right." 

"No you're not." 

"Sure I am." 

The rest of the night was spent in a long, peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry I took a while updating. Renovations, and jobs to be done. Will update more frequently. Thanks for reads and kudos!
> 
> -Thegracefulnerd


	3. Over and Over Again 'til it's Nothing but a Senseless Babble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little different. Some of these prompts are taken from a list I found, and some of them are from a list of prompts I found on Tumblr. This one is from the tumblr master-list posted by, trash-by-vogue. Wanted to give them credit for the name of the story, and the prompt. The name of the master list, is "the way you said "i love you."". Obviously I tweaked the title slightly, but still. The writing is 100% mine and as always, these beautiful bros are Rick Riordan's characters.

When they were in college, they shared a dorm. No one realized that it wasn't just because they were "really good friends", but because they were in fact dating. Naturally, sharing a dorm had several benefits and many of those, were the simple fact that they didn't have to worry about anyone barging in. Like, that time Nico walked around in boxers for the entire day because he was too hot and too tired to put on clothes. And then the time that Will walked around in a towel flirting with Nico, who was blushing and stuttering the entire time. Once their neighbor thought about complaining about the noise, but by the time he'd gathered the courage to knock on the door, he was entirely too embarrassed by the sounds coming from inside the dorm to say anything. So you see, living together was very, very beneficial. 

~

It was the beginning of semester, and Nico was stressed out. He'd applied to the college mainly because Will insisted he get a degree in case his musical career ever dropped, plus he really wanted to see Will everyday. Luckily, the college had an arts program and Nico had decided to major in music. "It's a real thing Will!" He'd protested when he told Will about it. To that, his boyfriend just shrugged and said, "Whatever makes you happy rock-star." 

All too soon though, Nico was wondering if he was in over his head. He was nervous about having to interact with new people and constantly worried about failing his classes. Will came home to their small dorm that day to see Nico lying on their bed in one of Will's hoodies, looking like he was going to puke. 

"Neeks? Are you alright?" Will asked, sitting down across from Nico. 

"No." 

"What's wrong?" 

"Life." 

"Okay I'm going to need you to be a little bit more specific." 

Nico sat up and ran a hand through his hair angrily. "I'm nervous about starting classes and talking to new people because, what if I fail my classes? I have no people skills Will, what if I accidentally stare at someone the wrong way and get tackled by a football player!" 

Will burst out laughing, "Oh my God Nico. This isn't high school, you'll do fine. You're people skills have improved, slightly, and no one is going to tackle you. We're adults now. No one cares about these things, they're to worried about saving their own asses." 

Nico blushed once he realized how ridiculous he'd sounded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked at Will and was hit by how nice his hair looked in the evening light. Then he was hit about how Will was always there when Nico freaked out like this and it left him wondering, 'how did I ever manage to score this well?'.

"Nico, you're thinking so loudly it's gonna make your brain explode," Will told him lightly. 

Nico just looked up and answered by kissing Will. Not something cute, or innocent. Something filled with a thousand unspoken words and a thousand things that Nico never dreamed he'd have. Will just responded by threading his fingers through Nico's hair an unzipping his hoodie. 

 

~

Hours later, with a window open and the cool night air pushing its way into the bedroom, Nico looked up at his boyfriend and sighed. "I love you." 

"I love you too." 

The repeated the mantra into the early hours of the morning, knowing it was the simplest and most important thing they'd ever say to each other. 

They never stopped saying it after that.


	4. From Very Far Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

"Nico, if you keep sulking like that, you will literally morph into your couch." Hazel commented dryly. Nico's half sister had stopped by once she'd gotten a call from Jason that Nico was, "taking Will's move hard.".

"Hazel, maybe I want to be part of the stupid couch." Nico said petulantly. 

Hazel just rolled her eyes and swept a pile of Chinese take-out containers into a trash bag. Nico's apartment was littered with three day old clothes, papers and monster energy cans. "Nico, you can't live like this forever. And it's not like you're never going to see Will again. He's in med-school, he's coming back you know." 

Nico groaned and rolled off the couch dejectedly. "Yeah, I know. But it's not the same. This place just feels so, empty." 

Hazel looked at her brother sympathetically. The last thing she wanted was for Nico to jump head-long into a fit of depression just because he was lonely. An idea slowly took shape in Hazel's mind and she fought the urge to grin. She picked through the clothes on the floor and picked up the cleanest looking t-shirt and pair of black jeans. She tossed them to Nico who gave an indignant grunt. 

"Get up. I'm taking you somewhere to get your mind off of Will." Hazel commanded. 

"Hazel look, I appreciate-" 

Hazel cut Nico off, "So help me, if you do not change clothes right now, I will personally send Will and all of your bandmates the pictures of you when you were twelve and went through your 'emo' phase." 

Nico sat upright, violently blushing. "You wouldn't." 

"Oh yes I would." 

Nico gathered his clothes and nearly sprinted to the bathroom. 

~

"So, where are we going on this blackmailed adventure?" Nico asked. He looked better than he had when Hazel first saw him. He was actually out of sweat-pants and had showered and put on decently clean clothes. His dark hair had been hastily pulled back and he had actually shaved the shadow that had been there for weeks. 

"It wasn't black-mail Nico. It was just intensive-persuasion." Hazel defended. 

"So blackmail." 

"Shut-up." 

They pulled into the local shelter and Hazel grinned. "Come on, you're getting a friend so you won't be as lonely." 

Nico looked at the shelter skeptically "I hate dogs though." 

"Then get a cat, just come on." Hazel insisted. 

"Fine, fine." 

Once they were in the shelter, Nico felt pity for all the animals trapped there. Almost all of them were shrunk into the back of their cages and looked at Nico as if to say, 'bust me outta here man.' The guilt was way too intense. Although, for the first time since he'd left for med-school, Nico was glad Will wasn't with him. He would've tried to take everyone of the animals home because, "they just look so sad!". Nico smiled, thinking about how ridiculously big-hearted his boyfriend was. Nico heard soft cooing and turned to see that Hazel was petting chocolate colored puppy and talking to it like one would a small child. Nico just half-way smiled continued on to look at the cats. He figured he would look just to humor Hazel, until he found a cat that looked especially rough. One ear was missing a chunk, a whisker looked like it'd been singed off, and it had a toe missing from it's front paw. The tag on the cage explained that the cat had been attacked by a dog, but was really friendly. Nico reached to pet it and the cat to lightened up like a Christmas tree. 

"Did you see this Persian over here Nico? Hazel asked happily, "Nico?" 

"No. But I wanna take this one home." Nico told her. 

Hazel looked at the cat hesitantly before nodding her head, "Alright, I guess." 

~

Nico named the cat Will 2.0 just because Hazel had suggested it and thought it'd be funny. After she'd driven Nico back home and gently told him that if he didn't start to take care of himself that she'd personally kill him, Nico cleaned the apartment and set up some food for Will 2.0. He was lounging on his couch, the cat perched happily on his chest when his phone rang. Nico fumbled around, startling the cat who meowed angrily. 

"Hello?" 

"Nico?" 

"Will! Hi." Nico answered happily. 

"Hey neeks. Look I'm so sorry I haven't been able to call, I've had to haul ass to get this dorm situated and then my internship at the hospital, plus classes. It's, ugh." Will explained. He sounded exhausted. 

"It's ok Will. I'm good, Hazel came by today and we talked and then welllll..." 

"What. What did you do." 

"I got a cat." Nico explained sheepishly. 

"Really? What kind?" Will asked happily. 

"Wait, wait, I thought you hated cats." 

"I do. But if they make you happy I'd put up with ten cats. Actually, I love you, but please don't get ten cats." 

Nico laughed and looked at the cat who was asleep and purring happily, "I won't. I think I'll be fine with one." He paused, "So, sounds like you've been busy." 

"That, is an understatement." 

Silence settled over the line. And then, "I miss you." 

"I miss you too." 

Nico looked at his cat and then to his phone, "I love you." 

"Love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just an experiment with some Hazel/Nico dynamic. Ironically, it started out with just Will calling Nico, but I liked the idea of Nico having a cat and Hazel being a good, loving, blackmailing sister. 
> 
> And to explain, in this AU, Bianca did exist and she did die. After that Nico and his mother moved to America from Italy, and once here, Nico discovered he had a half-sister on his father's side.


	5. Softly, With My Arms Around You.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All rights to the movie the Conjuring belong to the directors. All characters to Rick Riordan. Also, I came up for the title and prompt on my own to fit the idea that I wanted to write about.

The movie had been Hazel's idea. Well, actually, she was just the messenger but she had been the one to persuade Will and Nico to go. They were visiting Hazel in California for her birthday, and were planning on spending a most of the Summer there with her and her boyfriend. Hazel and Frank lived in a two level studio apartment so close to the coast, that Nico could smell the saltwater every time he walked out the door of the complex. 

Naturally, the two were in no hurry to leave. They were on Hazel's couch, sprawled over each other, eating popcorn and watching a movie when Hazel walked in, her boyfriend in tow. 

"So Will..." Hazel started out, already gaining up on Nico. "Frank and I got a text from a few friends of ours, and they're going to a movie tonight. You two are welcome to come if you'd like." 

"No." Nico said at the same time that Will said, "Sure." 

Nico looked at his traitor boyfriend. "Wait, you want to go?" 

Will shrugged, "It'd be nice to meet new people and besides, we've stayed in this apartment for three days straight." 

"Yeah, but we've been pretty occupied in those three days." 

"Okay woah time out! If you two are gonna argue this out, I am not going to hear about the things you've been doing in my guest room." Hazel yelped, looking embarrassed. 

Frank's ears were the shade of a tomato. Nico held up his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright. What even is the movie anyway?" 

"Some classic horror flick. For a film festival I think? It's this retro drive inn in Hollywood. My friend Jason, his girlfriend Piper suggested it." Frank answered. 

"No!"

"Yes!" 

Will and Nico looked at each other again. 

"Pleeeaaaasssseee Will. Classic flicks aren't even that scary!" 

Frank cleared his throat, looking magnificently uncomfortable, "Well, uh, if it helps, it's not like you'll be stuck in a dark theater." 

Will looked at Nico's face and sighed, "Damn puppy eyes." He threw his hands up in frustration, "Fine I'll go." 

"Yes!!"  
~  
Hazel's idea of 'a few friends,' meant six other people crammed into the bed of a pick up truck, that was filled with blankets popcorn and candy. One girl, Reyna, Nico thought was her name, had given up trying to find a spot and had climbed onto the roof of the truck. She lounged in a bean bag someone had brought, in a purple hoodie and killer black boots. Nico hadn't even tried to learn everyone's name. After about the third time he heard Hazel say, "That's my brother Nico and his boyfriend Will," he'd zoned out thinking about the movie and all the popcorn he was about to eat. They took to Nico pretty nicely, although Will was the easier one to talk to. 

Nico and Will were in the far corner of the truck, practically on top of each other. The others were sprawled out and one guy, Leon? No, Leo was his name, was lounging on the tailgate taking a swig of a beer that he'd smuggled in. The movie started, and Nico had to keep himself from grinning. He'd always been a horror movie fanatic and the idea that he'd get to see a classic horror film in a California drive inn, had seemed exactly like his cup of tea. Will however, did not like horror movies. In fact when they were eighteen, Nico had rented the Shining for him and Will to watch, and halfway into the movie Will had completely buried himself in Nico's side, practically shaking. He knew he probably shouldn't have asked Will to come, but he was too excited about the movie to consider that. 

The first few minutes were great. Will had rested his head on Nico's shoulder, and seemed relaxed enough. Then, stupid white girl #1 decided to follow the creepy mass murderer. Blood and heads were flying on screen and the volume was so loud, Nico was sure he'd be hearing the girl's scream for a week. 

"Woah!" 

"Bro, that was like-"

"I know bro." 

"That's not even possible, the physics are all wrong about it." 

"Ughnnnn." 

Nico looked down to see Will, who had shrunken down into his hoodie and had his face pressed into Nico's arm. Nico put his arms around his coward boyfriend and sighed. "You've helped with gut wrenching surgeries, and yet the fake stuff freaks you out." 

Will shot Nico an icy glare. 

Nico laughed lightly and rested his chin on Will's head, "Va bene, Tesoro, stai bene. Ti amo.." Nico mumbled. He usually spoke Italian when Will was distressed or he was too tired for English. 

Will smiled, most of the time he had no idea what Nico was saying, but he had picked up on one thing. 

"I love you too."


	6. Muffled, over your shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All rights of characters to Rick Riordan.

Will was pacing. He had been for the last fifteen minutes, and it was driving Hazel insane. 

"Will, he's fine." Hazel said, for the eighteenth time that day. 

Will nodded and looked at Hazel, "Yeah I know, I mean, I just. I'm nervous." 

He looked back to the terminal and felt anxiety settle over him like the worlds worst blanket. Nico had decided to spend a year studying abroad in his home place of Italy, and Will had been devastated when he'd gone. Of course he supported his boyfriend, and wanted what would make him happy, but he also missed seeing him everyday. They had skyped, called, texted, and even in one desperate month when Nico's phone service had been cancelled, emailed. So it wasn't like he'd completely lost touch with Nico, but it was enough to drive Will insane. Nico was flying back home today, and Will had been a nervous disaster since that morning. People began to file out of the terminal and his nervousness dialed down a little. But the anticipation of seeing Nico went sky high. 

"Do you see him?" Hazel asked, anxiety creeping into her voice. She and Will had developed a friendship in Nico's absence, and had grown closer by discussing how stupid Nico could be sometimes. Will shook his head.

Hazel scowled and stood on her tip-toes, trying to see past the six foot blonde body-builder in front of them. For a moment Will thought it could've been Jason, a friend of Nico's, on steroids. He shook off the random thought and went back to looking for Nico. 

Will almost didn't recognize him. His hair was pulled back into a messy excuse for a bun, and his olive skin tone had been seriously revived. He looked so much happier, and was chatting easily with a guy who looked like a darker haired, angrier version of the guy in front of them. He'd shot up about three inches, and he looked less like a skeleton. For a moment, Will's heart sunk to somewhere in his knees. Why did Nico look so great? I mean it wasn't like Will was mad because Nico was happy, he was actually thrilled, but what had been in Italy that hadn't been at home? He stared at Nico, and wondered if his personality had changed too. For a heart-stopping moment, Will wondered if Nico had met someone else in Italy. He immediately regretted the thought, and kicked himself mentally for being so selfish. The main focus was that Nico was back, happier, and from the looks of it, healthier. He finally stopped his conversation with the guy next to him and looked up to see Will and Hazel. 

Despite whatever Hazel will tell you about this exchange, it was not a movie scene. Will did not cry, and neither did Nico. Seriously, don't listen to Hazel, she was definitely the one crying. Hazel broke first and got tired of waiting. She broke into a run and nearly tackled her half-brother with a hug. Nico looked so happy to be back with his sister, he hugged her back tightly and Will looked away. It felt like one of those personal moments that you really shouldn't stare at. Once Hazel finally let Nico go, and the crowd had somewhat dispersed, he looked up to Will and smiled so wide Will was momentarily shocked. The he was walking towards Nico. Hazel would tell you he ran like quote "a marathon runner about to reach first place", but Will would swear that he walked. 

He barreled into Nico and buried his face in his shoulder. They stood like that for a while, just holding onto each other, holding fistfuls of the others shirt. Finally Will heard Nico mumbled something that sounded like Italian. 

"mi sei mancato tanto."

Will broke away and looked at Nico, "What?" 

Nico smiled, "I missed you so much." he translated. 

"I missed you too." 

Nico smiled again, and Will was just stunned by how beautiful he was when he smiled. 

Will pulled Nico into another tight embrace and heard Nico sigh. "ti amo." 

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading and sorry for the irregular updates. I hope you're enjoying the story, kudos mean a lot. 
> 
> -Thegracefulnerd.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Short but sweet. Will post several more, if you enjoy feel free to leave suggestions. Thanks for reading.
> 
> -Thegracefulnerd


End file.
